Friday preview: BA flies in Q1 numbers

29th Jul 2010 16:45

British Airways brings the curtain down on a hectic week, and it's been a manic first quarter for the carrier.Expensive staff strikes, volcanic ash disruption and the recent run of hot weather make this one to watch. In a rare piece of good news, US authorities last week cleared the airline's transatlantic tripartite with American Airlines and Iberia.Anglo American has had a busy time of it recently, with results from Kumba, De Beers and Anglo Platinum, and analysts remain positive.Panmure Gordon has done its sums and now predicts first half revenue of $16.15bn, EBITDA of $5.94bn, operating profit of $4.93bn and earnings per share of $2.16. Numis is keeping its eye on insurance broker Jardine Lloyd Thompson (JLT), which puts out interim numbers.Broking revenue is reckoned to have risen 9% on a reported basis and 6% at constant exchange rates (CER).Panmure Gordon expects a surprise. "Our underlying PBT (profit before tax) forecast of £65.8m PBT (+20%) may prove to be conservative," it admits. "The company has a recent history of under promising and over delivering and, as such, we think investors should buy ahead of the results."It also believes the firm will increase its dividend by 5% to 8.9p a share, the first rise in over five years.With little domestic data scheduled, most of the focus will shift to the report on US GDP, due at 1.30pm London time. Economists reckon the US economy grew 2.5% in the second quarter compared with 2.7% in the first three months of 2010.